Protective fire resistant covering for matteresses



Sept. 16, 1952 R, J. TAYLQR 2,610,338

PROTECTIVE FIRE RESISTANT COVERING FOR MATTRESSES AFiled March 10. 1947 Fig. Z1

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Patented Sept. 16, 1952 The Perfection *Animanga-Marcil 1o, 1947 1 clam. (ci. s-sn 'if 'Ihis invention relates to attresses 'and-has for' an `object the provision of a mattress which shall be fire resistant and yet retain'itsfsoftness and resiliency. Y i

A further object of my invention is to provide a protective covering for an ,innerspring mattress which shall be flame resistant and render ,the mattress safe against ordinary. hazards of lire propagation. 1

A still further object of my invention is to having'a cellulosic filling and with which I am familiar, have been expensive and in most cases have sacrificed comfort for safety due to the coarse, relatively hard character of materials employed. It is accordingly the prime object of vmy invention to provide a nre resistant'r mattress which maybe manufactured economically and which shall have all the qualiobject which might otherwise .be dropped lon' the mattress. Y f -I VAtypicaleinner spring mattress embodying-features lof my inventionv is illustratedinthe' accom-'- panying drawing forming apart of this appliV cation, inwhich f' y Y 1 Fig. 1fis:afragmentary,secti'onalfviewjf Y Fig.`2 is `a similar` Aview of-'a separablenrere sistant eoveringzfora mattressfand 1-5 f f -l -f l' Fig; a 'fragmentary planviewlof -thej-pad showt-innig.' 2;

Referring 'toI4 the drawing, I" show! an inneri springY .mattress comprifsing'fcoilsprings lllse'- cured 'together' at their Vupper and-*lowerends .as by straps IIila'n'd 125.1 "O'n top and vunderne'atlfrthe springs 1is aflayer'of'lburl'ap I-Sfandflll: AOin'erthe layer'sfofi burlap are-provided layersv of filling I6 and II preferably of cotton felt'or sisal?.

-.Enclosingthe springs and filling-just described ist a layer of re resistant, insulatingmaterial-'l 8'. While different materials may be employed for lthis layer, I preferably employ a felt material comprised essentially of glass fiber because of its softness, resiliency, low creep and permanent set properties. Different forms of such felt material are already known, and I prefer to employ either a glass liber felt in which the glass fibers are mixed with re resistant cotton, or one in which the glass bers are treated with a resinous bonding agent sufficient to 'prevent the fibers froml separation when subjected to ordinary wear and Y tear.

ties,. as to comfort, of lmattresses heretofore 1 known and used.

It is well known that cotton felt forms one of the most satisfactory llings for a mattress Vby reason of its cheapness, resiliency and compression-recovery properties. Methods are already available for rendering cotton and cotton fabrics iire resistant, but if applied to the entire filling of a mattress they render vits manufacturing cost prohibitive. Non-inflammable brous materials, and mixtures of such materials with cotton are also known,but such materials are too expensive to form the entire lling of a mattress comparable in price to mattresses heretofore manufactured. My invention accordingly contemplates the provision of :a nre resistant mattress which shall include an economical cotton or other brous lling which may not necessarily be fire resistant.

My invention further contemplates a separable fire resistant pad or cover for a mattress which shall be adapted to be spread over an ordinary inflammable mattress and intercept any burning Surrounding the layer I8 of insulating and nre resistant material, I provide the usual envelope or ticking I9, except that inmy invention I provide a iire resistant fabric for forming the ticking, While several re resistant agents for treating fabrics are known, I prefer to employ an agent thatv reacts chemically with the-fibers to add a re resistant constituent. One such process of'rendering-the fabric nre resistant comprises treating it, or the fiber or yarn from which it is formed, with an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid, or its ammonium salt, containing a large excess of urea or other nitrogen compound, drying the retardant mixture on the fibers, and curing at elevated temperatures. This results in the formation ofy a phosphate ester of cellulose in which the other acidic hydrogens of the phosphate are neutralized as the nitrogen salt. The excess nitrogen compoundl may then be removed by washing.

I have found that a mattress constructed in the manner just described and with a layer of insulating and fire resistant material I8 :at least of an inch thick and preferably from of an inch to 3/.1 of an inch thick, will effectively resist the propagation of firey originating from ordinary causes as from dropping lighted cigarettes on the mattress, or on a sheet covering the mattress.

In order to' protect mattresses as heretofore constructed,-.I may provide a re resistant, pro-y tective covering, such as shown in Figs. V2 and 3 of the drawing. In accordance withthis modifioation,I provide a layer of fire resistant insulating material I8 enclosed by an envelope of fire resistant fabric I9. The fire resistant layer I8' and the envelope I9' are the same or have re resistant properties equivalent; to the layer I8 and the ticking I9 shown in Fig. 1. Such a protective covering would be spread over a conventional, inflammable, mattress as a protective covering and would prevent the propagation of fire caused by dropping burning articles on the bed. Preferably the pad shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is quilted as indicated by the lines 2 I in Fig. 3.

Comprehensive tests made by me indicate that a mattress constructed as herein described does not propagate a re originating from ordinary causes as from dropping burning objects thereon. For example, lighted cigarettes were placed on such a mattress in a Ygentle draft of air and were allowed to burn completely out. No evidence of 'burning was found in the inflammable felt fillings I6 and I1. Mattressesconstructed in the ordinary way heretofore known in the art ignited and burned `to completionwhen subjected to the same test. Also, Ihave found that mattressesvcontaining an inflammable ller and coveredwith flame resistant ticking only, such .as herein described, would have its lling ignited when subjectedgto the burning cigarette test.

While as hereinbefore stated, I prefer to employ cottonA felt for'the lling I6 and I1, other l g art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications, without departingfrom the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claim.

What I claim is: Y

In a mattress having a cotton lling, a layer of ber glass at least three-eighths of an inch thick surrounding the cotton lling, and a iire resistant envelope over the said layer comprised of cottonlfabric embodying a phosphate ester of cellulose.

ROBERT J. TAYLOR.

f 'REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Y Date 1,837,150 Dreyfus et al Dec. 15, 1931 1,859,341 Marsack May 24, 1932 v2,072,253 Ellis et al. Mar. 2, 1937 2,163,085 Cupery 1 June 20, 1939 2,164,499 Coughlin f g July-4, 19,39 2,239,457 Gibbons `Apr.22, v1941 2,298,927 Callan et al. Oct. 13, 1942 .2,385,870

Lashar et al. Oct.,2, 1945 

